Dancing–I’m horrendous at it! But it’s still a lot of fun to do!
Over the years, videogames have seen a surprising array of series and titles having to do with dancing, and I don’t just mean being about dancing, but getting real-life physical bodies to literally move. Some are in the form of foot-stomping precision rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution and Pump It Up; others aim for full-body choreography like Harmonix’s Dance Central and Ubisoft’s Just Dance. Regardless of the flavor one might prefer, the very fact that there are multiple flavors of such a concept is itself a lovely thing to behold.
The eternally teenaged sectors of my brain will always have a soft spot for the DDR and DDR-adjacent games out there, but I’ve also greatly enjoyed sessions of Dance Central during that brief period of time when Xbox’s Kinect was a thing that got used. And I’ve discovered lately that there are even whole YouTube channels out there dedicated to Just Dance??? The one that I’m keeping tabs on these days is littlesiha, particularly the videos where she tackles the series’ K-pop canon.
She’s even delved into planning and filming choreography in the Just Dance style for a song that isn’t even in the games, effectively imagining how it would look in game. That is an ultra-geek level of commitment for a game series that I’d least expect to garner such devotion, given its thoroughly casual still-releasing-on-the-frickin-Wii reputation, and I’ve got all the respect for it. I love seeing people’s passion manifest in such peculiar but compellingly wonderful ways. Marble videos–especially musician Wintergatan’s work on his various Marble Machine instrument contraptions, holy shit–are another big example of this that comes to mind.
On a semi-related side note…I need Iceland’s 2021 Eurovision song, “10 Years”, to get in Dance Central or Just Dance ASAP so that I can properly learn that routine of theirs. The dance tutorial is a good start–and Daði Freyr is a treasure that must be protected at all costs–but THERE MUST BE MORE!!
Today’s questions:
- What ultra-specific yet thoroughly arresting hobbies do you like to watch videos, read blog posts, or otherwise keep tabs on?
- What is your dance and/or dance-themed song of choice? Or do you otherwise just pull up your pants and do the rockaway…and lean back?
- Are there any songs that you’d like to get the Dance Central/Just Dance treatment?
And, as always, Talk Amongst Yourselves!
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Comments
kick kick punchhhh
i was really really bad at parappa and that's about as close to a dancing game as I'll ever play.
Oh i guess that's not 100% true. I did play DDR at the museum a few times....